Black Farmers Too Late to Get Money Over Bias Claims

The Justice Department concluded Wednesday that hundreds of black farmers are ineligible for cash payments for past government discrimination because they filed complaints too late.

But White House officials said they are negotiating with Congress on legislation to waive the two-year statute of limitations for many of the farmers, enabling them to receive money if their claims against the Agriculture Department prove true.

The Justice Department said that, even if discrimination claims involving denial of farm loans and other benefits are proved, current law prevents all but a handful of the estimated 2,000 farmers from collecting damages.

The question is before a federal judge in a class-action lawsuit filed by 350 of the farmers, who are asking for $2 billion in damages.

The Justice Department’s position on the statute of limitations produced sharp criticism from Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney (D-Ga.), who has championed the farmers’ cause. She said they should not suffer because previous administrations ignored their claims.

The administration, however, believes that Congress must pass legislation before farmers with provable claims can collect money.

The Agriculture Department’s method of handling complaints has a backlog of about 900, which prompted the federal lawsuit.

A spokesman for the black farmers, Sam Taylor, said the draft legislation is a good start but that the claims should not be subject to further delays caused by more investigations. “We don’t think we should set up a system processing complaints one by one.”